Absolute History

Over a century ago, a tomb ship bound for China was shipwrecked and sank. The SS Ventnor had a ghostly cargo, the remains of 499 Chinese gold miners were all packed in coffins that never made it home. The ship still lies off the coast of Northern New Zealand. Can the descendant retrieve their ancestors from their watery graves?

The Rouen Museum has just returned a severed Maori head, which has been in its collections for 150 years, to New Zealand's Te Papa Institute. This film reveals the story of how such heads ended up in European museums, and the Maori people's efforts to have the head returned. The story has its origins in the worst periods of colonial conquest, and perfectly illustrates the philosophy of relationships between the West and indigenous peoples in the 19th century.

Michael Buerk discovers how the Victorians took on the world of exploration and adventure, and brought it home to Britain for everyone to share. His voyage of discovery begins at the Natural History Museum, where Michael comes face to face with a dinosaur that changed the course of history. He travels to the Victorian 'living museum' - London Zoo - to find out about the way scientific study of the birds and the beasts led to the first ever public zoo. Last in the series.

Bettany Hughes examines how the Minoans turned to religion to guard against the ominous threats of volcanoes.

Michael Buerk discovers how Britain's first super sewer cleaned up the capital, and inspired a fresh water revolution that would change the lives of millions of Victorians. He begins his journey in the cesspits of Victorian high society to discover the depths to which the capital sank to keep itself clean. Michael also heads to the pub to find out how boozing brewers helped unlock the key to ridding London of the deadliest epidemic since the Great Plague.

Bettany Hughes examines the roots of the Minotaur myth, taking her back to the Minoan civilization.

Michael Buerk discovers how the Victorians instituted a revolution in law and order, created the first modern police force and built the prisons Britain still relies on today. He begins in Spike Island, County Cork, dubbed "Ireland's Alcatraz", where he learns about the terrible conditions endured by convicts awaiting transportation to Australia, and hears the stories of those who tried to escape. Next, Michael travels to Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast, discovering why the Victorians embarked on the biggest prison-building programme in British history - and why their efforts at prisoner rehabilitation didn't always succeed. And in Glasgow, he discovers why the city became home to the country's first recognisably modern police force.

Presenter Michael Buerk discovers how bold Victorian experiments and cathedrals of medicine built Britain, and revolutionised the medical world.

In Blackpool, Michael Buerk discovers how the seaside mini-break was transformed from a perk of the wealthy to a British institution.

Michael travels to Bristol to Brunel's 'first love' the Clifton Suspension Bridge and discovers how the tragic Tay Bridge disaster in Scotland led to huge leaps in technology.

Chronicling the romantic life of Britain's royal family in the 20th century, this documentary explores the history of royal marriages and asks what's next for a royal family increasingly battered by media pressures.

The Victorians built the most technologically advanced ships in the world, helping to dominate the high seas in peace, war, leisure and trade. They even created the first submarine.

The Viking era is the last of the great periods of barbarian attacks. It left Europe transformed, ripe for the rise of the new nations that marked the middle ages.

Michael Buerk jumps on board an original locomotive to discover the effect that the burgeoning rail network had on Victorian Britain.

The Pagan Kingdoms Built By Viking Clans | Vikings examines the specific people, events and evidence presented in this documentary. The Viking era is the last of the great periods of barbarian attacks. It left Europe transformed, ripe for the rise of the new nations that marked the middle ages. Norsemen, another word for Vikings, conquered a quarter of France, half of England and a third of Italy.

Tony takes us back to the Middle Ages, a time of knights in shining armour, big-shot kings, and fabulous clothes - if you could afford them. His first encounter is with someone you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night, or any time, really. Richard Rakiere has the vital role of a 'Gong Farmer', or Nightman, and spends his hours of darkness emptying cesspits. We know about Richard because in 1326, his bizarre death was recorded, when he fell into his own cesspit and drowned.

The Real Lives Of Scandinavian Warriors | Vikings examines the specific people, events and evidence presented in this documentary. The Viking era is the last of the great periods of barbarian attacks. It left Europe transformed, ripe for the rise of the new nations that marked the middle ages. Norsemen, another word for Vikings, conquered a quarter of France, half of England and a third of Italy.

Tony takes us back to the 1950s. Fondly remembered today as an optimistic period of social and economic regeneration. A period that was tough but rewarding for many. Tony begins with the story of Irish woman, Mary Powell, who joins the NHS, following her childhood dream of becoming a nurse, despite militaristic matrons, curmudgeonly consultants and patients with distressing conditions. Mary manages to escape her nursing accommodation for nights out and even marries her boyfriend against her parents' wishes.

This series follows the Vikings everywhere they went, revealing new discoveries that turn Viking history on its head. We tell their incredible story from eye-witness accounts and the foremost experts on Viking warfare and way of life.

Tony Robinson takes us back to the beginning of the last century. It's a time of elegance, innovation, class division and social progress: The Edwardian Period. Tony begins with two people who travelled on the Titanic. One is ship's fireman, Arthur Priest, who tends the ship's furnaces. The other is Mrs Cavendish's Maid, Nellie Barber.

They were bloodthirsty Scandinavian warriors and fine craftsmen. They opened trade routes, founded cities and captured ancient hubs. The Saxons of England feared them but mocked their careful grooming habits. In short, they were pirates with style. This series follows the Vikings everywhere they went, revealing new discoveries that turn Viking history on its head. We tell their incredible story from eye-witness accounts and the foremost experts on Viking warfare and way of life.

Tony Robinson takes a fresh and humorous look at British history 'from the bottom up'. Instead of the usual stories of the powerful, rich and famous, this is history through the eyes of the common people. We explore their everyday lives: how they washed, ate and made a living; and also how the behaviour of those who ruled the land affected them. One thing is for sure, life for the common people was tough! Each episode covers a momentous period in British history: the second series looks at Roman Britain, the Middle Ages, the Edwardians and the 1950s.

Viking influence stretches from the Baltic to the Black Sea in 1072. Jova's quest takes us to the Viking communities transitioning to kingdoms and undergoing the transformation to Christianity. The two-part documentary gives completely new insights into a fascinating culture, about which it seemed everything was already known. Based on characters of the Nordic sagas, the mini-series displays the life stories of two Viking women: those of Sigrun and Jova.

The Vikings changed Europe forever, yet half of them have almost completely disappeared from collective memory: the viking women. Quite unjustly so, as they played an important role in the world of the Vikings and performed extraordinary deeds. Viking women commanded ships and settled colonies. The two-part documentary gives completely new insights into a fascinating culture, about which it seemed everything was already known. Based on characters of the Nordic sagas, the mini-series displays the life stories of two Viking women: those of Sigrun and Jova.

In an age of science, one tale of the supernatural continues to seduce us: the legend of the vampire. Embodied in the persona of Count Dracula, this pale, elegant aristocrat lusts for blood, making him at once repulsive... and irresistible. By day, he hides his face from the light... by night; he escapes the velvet confines of his coffin and flaps off to drain helpless damsels of their lifeblood. At last, scientists are digging vampires out of their tombs to take a good, long look at them. What they're finding is a surprising factual side to the ancient legend. Fact may be stranger than fiction!

In Victorian England the Workhouse formed the basis of society. The poor and destitute entered Workhouses to receive free health care and food. But in a society that viewed poverty as a crime, these workhouses were never meant to comfort. It was a means to punish the destitute and encourage future independence. In this two-part documentary, several UK celebrities explore how their ancestors survived the difficult environment of the Workhouse and discover some unexpected family secrets which shock and inspire them in turn.

Dan reveals why Londoners were desperate to stop the fire reach the Tower, Rob looks at the bizarre 17-century methods of treating burns and Suzannah examines a controversial new theory about how many people died. They also examine how the authorities dealt with the 100,000 people who had lost everything and how a new city was built from the ashes.

Dan Jones follows the path of the fire on the worst day of its rampage as it swept through some of London's iconic buildings. Suzannah Lipscomb finds evidence in the archives of who was blamed and who escaped scot free. Rob Bell visits Imperial College London for more information about the spread of the fire and to re-create the intense heat it generated.

The final setting is an Iron age village in A.D, 43 and, whilst there are no bosses, life is certainly primitive as the group must make bread, start a fire from scratch and prepare chickens and a deer, as well as constructing a wicker man to burn at their feast. One of their number fails to stay the course, their identity being somewhat of a surprise though the remainder toast themselves at their celebration with Chris getting a special title.

Dan Jones visits the exact location of the bakery where it started, Suzannah Lipscomb reveals how Londoners tried to save their belongings, and Rob Bell investigates 17th-century building materials and the prevailing weather conditions.

The bleak Norfolk coast in the 1880s is the setting for the latest task where the men must catch a seemingly impossible quota of mussels and oysters to ship to the London markets and the women gut fish for sale at local markets. When the deadline seems out of reach the whole team pulls together to save the day, giving them a true sense of camaraderie for which they are rewarded with suppers of fish and chips.

The bakers have said goodbye to the brutal working conditions of the 1870s urban bakery. It is now 1900 and Britain's middle classes are enjoying the democratisation of luxury. Bakers were quick to cash in - this time, the bakers have an elegant shop on the high street. Their new workplace boasts huge steam-belching ovens, but it is the early 20th-century electric dough mixer that takes the hard work out of baking. The technology has changed beyond recognition and so has their trade. The bakers experience first-hand the incredible diversification their forebears underwent in order to stay in business.

It is now the Georgian period and the group are on a farm where the women must milk goats and make butter and cheese, as well as bake bread. The men must tend to the livestock, sprucing up the animals for the gentleman farmer's inspection, and it is Chris, usually the loose cannon of the team, who comes in for the most praise.

Four 21st-century bakers bake their way through the era that gave us modern baking as we know it - the reign of Queen Victoria. Experts Alex Langlands and Annie Gray join them to tell the incredible story of our daily bread. The bakers have left the rural bake house and the golden age of baking behind, this time it's the 1870s and they're moving into an urban bakery in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Their new bakery is totally authentic and it boasts two coal-fired ovens. At this time it is coal that fuels Britain's epic industrial expansion and bread that feeds its ever-expanding urban workforce. A growing middle class start demanding 'fancy breads' for breakfast and so the bakers must now bake through the night.

The Time Crashers are now servants at a country house in the year 1913 but their employers are not the cosy fantasy figures of 'Downton Abbey'. Housemaid Fern disgraces herself serving tea to the hatchet-faced lady of the house and Zoe Smith is summarily dismissed without a reference for refusing to pluck a pheasant. The boys also have a hard time having to run backwards and forwards to a hunting party with food, including a jelly that refuses to lie down.

In this final episode of the series, Albert Road is transformed once again for family life in the 1970s. Single mum Lisa Rhodes moves in with her two sons, joining the other parents for whom the seventies are all about nostalgia. But as daily life is turned upside down by strikes, the three-day week, power cuts, water shortages and women's liberation, the rose-tinted glasses are off and the parents realise just how tough their own parents had it. With all the mums working, the two dads on Albert Road soon take up the strain at home: Michael Taylor puts on a pinny and cooks chicken kiev, while Phil knuckles down to the housework.

Four modern bakers bake their way through the era that gave us modern baking as we know it - the reign of Queen Victoria. Experts Alex Langlands and Annie Gray join them to tell the incredible story of our daily bread. The journey begins in 1837, when bread was the mainstay of most diets and bakers were at the heart of every community. A rural bake house has been kitted out exactly as it would have been in the 1830s. The bakers must get to grips with centuries-old methods of breadmaking and that means doing absolutely everything by hand.

The Time Crashers are now back in 1468, one of the few years England was not troubled by the Wars of the Roses and they are in two unisex teams of squires, the Reds and the Blacks, competing with each other to prepare their knight for a jousting tournament. The fastest team to accommodate the winning knight is rewarded with a feast whilst the losers must polish yet more armour.

In this episode, the families are thrown into the swinging sixties and the street is introduced to a new family, the Hawkes, who are walking in the shoes of their ancestors who arrived as immigrants from the Caribbean. Brother and sister Jonathan and Rachel arrive on Albert Road first, and are shocked by life in the sixties. They discover life in the sixties was a difficult time, with racism, isolation and separation from loved ones taking its toll.

Death is a frightening, unsettling prospect for us all. Myths and legends help explore those anxieties. But they tell us about more than mortal fear alone. For in a culture's tales of death we can see what it is they value in life.

TV presenters Fern Britton and Louise Minchin, weight-lifter Zoe Smith, former rock chick Meg Matthews, actors Kirstie Alley, Keith Allen and Charlie Condou, comedian Chris Ramsey, ex-footballer Jermaine Jenas and long jumper Greg Rutherford sign up to be transported back to six periods of history, starting with the Elizabethan era where they are servants at a great hall preparing a banquet for the lord and his guests. Here they discover just how menial a menials life was.

In this episode, the families face life on the home front with Great Britain at war; they pull together to survive and do their bit for the war effort, as well as enduring a night in a bomb shelter; and Susie Meadows finds herself responsible for everyone's safety.

How does a community form? How does it survive and adapt to change? The role myths and legends have played in establishing the rules of society and the punishments for those who break them.

Beer, known as liquid gold to many in this day and age, but even more so to the ancient Egyptians. This fascinating documentary takes us on an archaeological dig as the Scottish and Newcastle Brewery tries to discover the secrets of the original recipe in the land of the Pharaohs. Following brewery executive and keen Egyptologist, Jim Merrington, and his efforts to recreate this ancient mysterious beer - it's an intriguing journey into a beverage that has stood the test of time.

In this episode, the families are put through the mill as they experience family life during the Interwar years. They experience the highs of the "roaring twenties", followed by the lows of the Great Depression and its catastrophic effect on British economy.

Jealousy, betrayal and other dark emotions born out of romantic desire have inspired some of the most enduring stories known to humankind. In this episode we explore some of the most legendary love stories, including that of the Phoenician queen who founded Carthage.

Three families experience life across five different eras of British history. The Edwardian era pushes the three modern families to their limits. There is a rude awakening for the Polo-playing Meadows family, who take on the role of being an Edwardian working-class family and must cope with the impact of poverty on their lives, as they and their two daughters adapt to a new role as breadwinners. The Taylor family live the lives of their ancestors as an upper-middle-class Edwardian household. Formality and etiquette mean the Taylor family must live very separate lives and mum Adele struggles as her familiar role as wife and working mum is stripped away. Finally, the Golding family are desperately hanging on to their newly acquired social status as a middle-class family, but for dad Ian it is a chance to put his theories on the benefits of discipline into practice.

War has been a constant in human history, and stories of conflict often lie at the root of a society's values, ideals and identity. We explore the violent story of Romulus and Remus, the brutal Vikings and the Valkyries, the Trojan War, the influence of Homer's Iliad on Alexander the Great, and 15th Century Romania with its bloodthirsty ruler, Vlad the Impaler.